Kevin Byron received his PhD in physics from the University of Hull, UK and continued to pursue a career in scientific research in the telecommunications industry for some twenty five years. During his years in research he developed a deep interest in creativity that had been initially sparked by his involvement in industry with the creation of patentable ideas and in the processes of product innovation.
He also developed a keen interest in education when he was invited to join a small team of scientists and engineers tasked with communicating and raising the awareness of science in local schools. This interest was broadened somewhat on being elected an honorary visiting lecturer to the University of Glasgow, an honorary visiting fellow to the University of Salford and a fellow of the Institute of Physics. These joint interests in creativity and education led in 2001 to the award of a full-time research fellowship with The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) to study creativity in education and business.
During the three year fellowship he designed and developed a number of creativity workshops and lectures pitched at a range of groups from junior school children to academics and business employees. On completion of the NESTA fellowship he set up a small business (Etc - Education and training in creativity) to further pursue his research his broader interests in creativity and to deliver training to the education and business sectors.
In 2005 he was elected an honorary visiting fellow to the Higher Education Academy (HEA) at the University of Hull. As part of the fellowship he developed and delivered workshops on creativity to some twelve UK universities. He also developed a resource on entrepreneurship (based on the Osborn-Parnes process) to be used by university teachers for training under-graduates. This resource has been included in the curriculum in several universities.
During his time in industry he created some fifty patents, published over sixty papers in specialist peer reviewed journals, and authored chapters in two specialist books. His more general publications include a monograph on 'Inventions and Inventing' (Octagon Press), 'Cycles of Innovation' (The Alchemy of Innovation, Spiro Press) and general articles on creativity in the 'Times Education Supplement,' 'Physics World' (Institute of Physics) and 'Wavelength' (Higher Education Academy publication.)
He has presented keynotes and lectures on creativity and innovation to businesses and educational institutions in the UK and has presented his work at conferences in the USA, Canada, South Africa and Italy. He has recently written a monograph on 'Counter-intuition' due for publication later this year and is currently researching the uses of bio-feedback for nurturing creativity.
A list of workshops (W) and presentation for lectures or keynotes (P) along with the client group for whom they can be adapted is provided in the appendix below.
kevin.byron@ntlworld.com
Appendix - Presentations and Workshops
| Title | Subject matter | Client Group |
| 1. "How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take ?" (P) | Intro to Creativity and Innovation | Business employees, teachers, academics, undergrads |
| 2. "Who Are You ? " (P) | Personality profiling through history | Business employees, academics, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 3. "Mind How You Think !" (P) | Creativity & Intuition | Business employees, academics, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 4. "The Art & Science of Inventing" (P) | Inventions - history, techniques, Social effects | Business employees, teachers, academics, undergrads |
| 5. "Counter-Intuition" (P) | Uncommon sense, Creativity, illusory thinking | Business employees, academics, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 6. "Brighter than the Sun" (P) | LASERS: How they work and their uses | Teachers, High School kids, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 7. "The LASER Fact & Fiction" (P) | Different perspectives on technology by Artists & Scientists | Teachers, High School kids, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 8. "Crazy about Physics !" (P) | Counter-intuitive aspects of science | Research Scientists,Teachers, High School kids, special interest groups - societies etc |
| 9. "The Creativity Challenge !" (W) | Creative Problem Solving, Tools & Techniques | Employees, Managers, Teachers, Academics. |
| 10. "The Eureka Moment !" (W) | Ideation methods | Employees, Managers, Teachers, Academics. |
| 11. "Telling Tales" (W) | Story-telling techniques, Presentation skills | Employees, Managers, Teachers, Academics. |
| 12. " Creativity Outside In !" (W) | Developing personal creativity | Employees, Managers, Teachers, Academics, Undergrads. |
| 13. " The Use of Analogy in Science Education" (W) | Tools to help in developing analogies for education | Teachers, Academics. |